Pumpkins and Traditions
by Cutebeekeeper
Summary: This rather fluffy story takes place one day in October and Lisbon and Jane have only been together as a couple for a short time.
1. A PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE AND A BEAR CLAW

PUMPKINS AND TRADITIONS

Chapter 1. A PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE AND A BEAR CLAW

Jane and Lisbon get early wake-up calls from Abbott, each pretending the other isn't lying next to them. They quickly shower and dress. As they are walking to the car, Jane laments, "Too bad we have to go in now – I was planning on making you a special breakfast."

As Jane opens the car door for her, she says, "Special, huh?" Jane smiles and nods his head with a my-plans-were-rudely-interrupted smile and replies, "Special." And closes her door.

Once they are both in the car, Lisbon continues, "I'm sorry. But you know Abbott wants us there right away because he wants us to interrogate Williams again this morning. We granted Oklahoma their extradition request so he will be out of our hands as of 8:00am this morning. You know I want to go in early so I can go over the files again."

Sighing, "Yeah, I know. Case going back to the local authorities then?"

"Not enough evidence to connect him to the drug cartel. So, yes. Unless we can get him to cough up something before they arrive to pick him up. So just drop me off at the door…"

Jane catches her meaning, "So, Cho's there already?"

"Yeah."

"Lisbon… really? Can't we walk in together at this ungodly hour?"

Lisbon looks out the window and changes the subject. "Mmmm, I can't wait for coffee. Drive faster…"

Jane responds with a hopeful "Really? "

"No, just kidding. But I had you going there!"

"No, you didn't. Remember, you're predictable." He winks at her. Hoping she didn't hear the "Mostly." he added under his breath.

"Whatever. Hey, what are you doing?"

"Uh, turning around," he says like it's the most obvious thing.

"Why?" Lisbon asks with an incredulous look.

"So I can get you some coffee," Jane explains as if she should know that.

"They have coffee at work."

"Not pumpkin spice latte."

"How…"

"Psychic."

"No such thing. I don't want to be late."

"You obviously want a pumpkin spice latte so I'm getting you one."

"No. I mean OK. But how…"

"You saw the sign at the coffee shop that said "it's pumpkin spice latte time" and you said "Mmm. I can't wait for coffee. Drive faster..."

"Oh. Well, you really don't have to get me one. We WILL be late."

"I'm driving."

"I shouldn't have let you."

"So, why are you letting me do more of the driving now anyway?"

"Well, because you rarely speed anymore – at least when I'm in the car."

"But you secretly like going fast – you just don't like breaking the law," Jane says raising his eyebrows and nodding his head, with that annoying know-it-all smile of his.

"Going fast scares me," Lisbon replies in her best matter-of-fact voice.

"No, it doesn't."

"Yes, it does," in a voice that is just a little higher that she would have liked.

He looks at her knowingly, "No, I vividly remember a road trip from Sacramento to Napa in a very fast, very expensive sports car. You loved every minute!" he says with glee.

With a small sigh and smile Lisbon concedes, "Not EVERY minute."

They pull into the coffee shop parking lot. "Here we are. Be back in a jif."

"Pumpkin spice latte, m' lady," Jane says as he hands her the coffee with a flourish of his hand.

"Thank you. I've really been wanting to try one. I love pumpkin. Mmmm, this is amazing..." She realizes he is staring at her like she is a puzzle he needs to figure out, "What?"

"Just wondering how I never knew you loved pumpkin. You've never eaten anything pumpkin since I've known you."

Silence

"Ahh. You USED to love pumpkin. But something happened. Something bad – no, something associated with your mother…"

Lisbon tenses and hesitates for a moment as Jane starts the engine. She lets out a deep breath, "Yeah, it's not really a big deal. But at Thanksgiving and Christmas my mom and I used to make the pumpkin pies. She had a secret recipe. Everyone said our pies were the best pumpkin pies they ever had – even people who didn't normally like pumpkin pie loved ours. We made pumpkin cookies and cakes and soups too. I loved when October rolled around… I just haven't had anything pumpkin since… since I left Chicago."

Softly, "Lisbon, I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up painful memories…."

"It's ok. They're not painful, they're really good ones, you know." Something dawns on her. "Wait. You really didn't know?"

"What? That you liked Pumpkin? No, I didn't," he says honestly. She contemplates that fact with satisfaction.

"Well, here we are. I'll see you upstairs."

Contritely, "Jane, you don't really have to let me out. We can walk in together."

"No. You go on, I just remembered something I need to do," Jane says airily.

"At 6:30 in the morning? What are you gonna do? Work out?" she snickers.

He tilts his head to her and says seductively, "Don't need to – I get all the exercise I need." He waggles his eyebrows, "With you." He playfully continues, "Now don't go blushing – you and Cho have an interrogation."

"WE" she gestures back and forth between them, "have an interrogation."

"Actually, the car needs gas. I'll be back soon. Now go on. Shoo!" he tells her, waving her out of the car before she notices the fuel gage reads three-quarters full.

"You'd better get back PDQ."

"Don't worry."

"Right."

20 minutes later:

Text: "I'm headed your way – bringing your breakfast!"

Lisbon turns to Cho, "Jane – he said he's on his way."

15 minutes later:

Text: "Meet me at your desk in 5 minutes!"

Text: "What's up?"

Text: "Nothing."

Text: "Then bring it to the fish bowl. I'm hungry."

Text: "No."

Text: "Why not?"

Text: "You'll see."

Text: "You didn't get anything for Cho?"

Text: "No, I didn't."

"Jane needs me. Be right back."

Cho nods his head and the corners of his lips turn up ever so slightly, "OK."

Jane is waiting at Lisbon's desk. "Hey. There you are. Here. Open it!", smiling and handing her the white bag.

She would recognize a bag from a pastry shop anywhere. She opens the bag with anticipation. "A bear claw!" she says with a smile.

"Not just ANY bear claw, my dear. One filled with pumpkin cream!" he proudly proclaims.

"Pumpkin cream? Oooooh, that's divine," she says through a mouthful of the delicious treat. "How did you..." She decides not to finish the question and instead merely says a heartfelt "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiles at her, enjoying seeing the delight on her face.

Through another mouthful, "Abbott is ready for you to take one last crack at Williams. But not until after he and I talk to him first."

"OK."

She finishes her breakfast and they head toward the interrogation room. After Lisbon and Abbott take their turn speaking with Wiliiams, they exit and let Jane talk to the man alone.

After less than a minute, Jane reappears in the hallway and tells Abbott and Lisbon that Williams isn't involved with the drug cartel. Abbott accepts Jane's opinion without question and heads for his office.

But as Jane and Lisbon walk back to her desk, she asks him, "How do you know he isn't involved?"

"Because he isn't. So not our problem anymore."

"But…"

Jane interrupts her, "But he's not, he's telling the truth. Trust me on this."

"OK." She looks at her desk. "Well, I've got paperwork to do."

Rolling his eyes, he says, "Some things never change. OK. See you later."

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's a gorgeous fall day! You could join me," Jane says hopefully.

"Wait and I'll join you."

"Nothing more I'd love. But if I wait for you, I'll fall asleep on the couch and then I won't want to go."

"Fine. Enjoy yourself."

Jane is smiling as he heads for the elevator.


	2. A GIFT

PUMPKINS AND TRADITIONS

Chapter 2. A GIFT

Lisbon fills out the last form on her desk, lays down her pen and looks at her watch. It's been two hours since Jane left to go for a walk. She checks her phone for messages and finding none, heads for the break room. She returns to the bullpen with a cup of coffee that doesn't begin to compare to that pumpkin spice latte. She notices a package on her desk but still no sign of Jane's return. Pointing to the package, "What's this?" she asks Wiley when he enters the bullpen a few seconds later.

"I don't know." he replies.

"Where's Jane?"

"I don't know. Haven't seen him for a while. Saw him at the elevator earlier. He said he was going for a walk."

"Hmmm," she says nonchalantly.

Wylie moves to stand at Lisbon's desk. "Who's it from?" he asks, trying to hide the depth of his curiosity.

She smiles at the fact she can see right through him. "I don't know. It was here after I got back from break."

"Well, open it! Maybe you have a secret admirer."

"Right," she says, and rolls her eyes for good measure. "I'll open it later."

"Come on."

"You didn't see who put it here?"

"No. But I wanna know what it is. Don't you?!"

Lisbon smiles again at his youthful exuberance, and opens the gift. "Fine. Oh….." she says, one side of her mouth curling up in disgust.

"What is it?!"

"Wow. It's a chef's apron. A chef's apron? This has to be a mistake. It can't be for me."

"Look there's something sticking out of the pocket. Maybe it's a note."

She removes the tiny slip of paper.

"What's it say?"

Not missing a beat, Lisbon replies, "Inspected by number 345.". (It actually says "I'd love to see you in this (maybe only this) tonight." And there's a pumpkin with heart eyes.)But she can't keep from blushing.

"Oh." Wylie says, pretending not to notice her blush.

"Yeah. I'm just going to wrap it back up. Someone will come looking for it when they realize their mistake."

Just then Jane walks in. "Hey Lisbon!"

"What's that? A gift from a secret admirer?"

"No. It's obviously meant for someone else," she says, suddenly more nervous than she wants to be.

"How do you know?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I opened it and it was a chef's apron. Anyone who knows me, would know I wouldn't need one of those." She gives him a pointed look.

"True."

"Hey!" she says in mock annoyance. "Anyway, I wrapped it back up because whoever left it here will realize their mistake and come back for it."

"Was there a note?"

"Uh, oh. This is becoming a slippery slope. Hang on or the cat will be out of the bag." she says to herself, trying to bolster her willpower not to blush.

"Yes. No. I mean, it was one of those pieces of paper that says "inspected by" on it." She is trying so hard not to blush.

"No, it wasn't."

"Yes, it was."

"You're blushing."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are," Jane says with a decisive nod of the head and a smile. They lock eyes briefly until they hear Cho say, "Hey guys."

"Hey," Lisbon and Jane say in unison, instantly putting their poker faces on and looking at Cho.

"Hey," adds Wylie, who had silently retreated to his desk after inexplicably and suddenly feeling like a third wheel in the presence of his two coworkers.

Cho looks at Vega's empty chair and then at Wiley. "Vega still interviewing witnesses in the Carson case?"

"Yeah. She called and asked me to look up some background info on one of them. She's waiting for me to get back to her."

"OK. Since we don't have a case right now, boss wants us to dig through some cold case files". Cho nods to a couple of boxes on the table in the fish bowl. "Wylie, you stay and get Vega whatever she needs."


	3. A SURPRISE VISIT TO THE COUNTRY

Chapter 3. A SURPRISE VISIT TO THE COUNTRY

After an hour of looking through the files, Jane grows weary.

"Hey Lisbon, can you make out what this says?" Jane pushes a piece of paper over to Lisbon, pretending he pulled it from the file he's looking at.

The paper says "let's knock off early. I have plans for us. Please?"

Trying to stave off a smile and its accompanying blush, Lisbon ducks her head and casually replies, "It says "one more hour."

"Great! Thanks! I thought it said one more honey or horny. Really, terrible penmanship. Don't you think?" Jane says with his most annoyingly innocent BS voice.

Cho looks from one to the other and then quickly back to file, unable to stop the corners of his mouth from turning up a bit.

Lisbon refuses to look at Jane for the next hour.

An hour later, Jane whines to Cho. "Cho, this is so boring. Do you think we could knock off now? It's Friday and we could use the time off… you know, in case there's a murder tomorrow or something that we need to be rested up for."

Lisbon keeps her head buried in her file, but to her surprise, Cho answers with "Sure. Sounds like a good idea. See you later." And with that he closes his file, gets up and leaves.

Lisbon looks at Jane with wide eyes, "Did you hypnotize him?"

"Of course not. Cho is a smart man. Give him credit for recognizing a great idea. Now get your things. Let's go home."

Jane drives past the turn off for the Airstream.

"I thought we were going home."

"We are. Eventually."

They settle into comfortable silence and Lisbon looks out the window and watches the city fade into country. And then Jane suddenly turns down a dirt road.

"Where are we going?"

"Patience, woman. I don't want to spoil the surprise by telling you."

"Jane… what are you up to?"

"Tsk, tsk. Patience," he tells her as he wags his index finger at her.

"I have patience. But it's running thin," she grumbles.

"You'll love it. I promise."

Lisbon gives him her best "prove it" look.

"You will," he says, giving her a nod.

After a couple more miles, Jane slows and turns into a dirt drive. There are a few other cars in the dirt parking lot situated in front of an old, but cozy farmhouse. People, some with children, are milling about on the front porch and Lisbon can make out some tables with items for sale. Sitting on one of the tables is a sign that reads "Fresh Pumpkin Bread" and a big container that's labeled "Hot Cider".

Lisbon looks to the right of the porch and out into the yard. There are pumpkins grouped according to size and people are carrying pumpkins in their arms or have wagons loaded with them and/or kids. Some of the children are running and squealing with laughter. The scene makes Lisbon take pause. It's certainly very different from the pumpkin patch at St. Mary's back home where the "patch" was confined to the church courtyard. But this. This is such an idyllic scene and It makes her feel strangely warm inside.

"What…. Why…"

But before she can ask, Jane practically shouts, "It's a pumpkin patch!"

"I KNOW that. I can see, Jane. But wh…."

"Come on, let's get some pumpkins!" And with that, he bursts from the car.

He heads toward the patch, leaving her behind, forcing her to get out of the car and chase after him. "What for? You aren't going to build a trebuchet and launch them at somebody important…." she says as she catches up to him.

Jane turns serious and interrupts her. Looking her squarely in the eye and with a slight amount of genuine hurt, "Teresa. No. Why do you still have so little faith in my motives?"

"I'm sorry. It's just... old habits die hard, I guess," she says with a hint of petulance.

"And now I'm trying to prove I have lots of good intentions."

"I know." She calms down. Maybe she is being too hard on him. "So, pumpkins? What are you going to do with them?"

"Not me. We." She feels a flutter in her stomach at that tiny correction. "Well…. There's something you don't know about me. I'm very good at carving jack-o-lanterns.

"Of course, you are." she thinks.

"I learned to do it in the carnival. They were great decorations for our show. And, and then, well I really used to love making them for Charlotte. She loved them." Jane said with fond remembrance in his voice.

"Jane, I'm sorry…"

"No don't be. They were good memories. Like you have about making pies with your mom."

"You know, I never got to carve pumpkins. That belonged to the realm of the Lisbon men. But it was OK. I loved seeing my father and my brothers out on the back porch discussing what the face would look like – we could only have one jack-o-lantern - and watching my dad overseeing their work. They always looked like they were having fun.", she said wistfully. Then, putting her mask back on, "OK, so which one of these million pumpkins do you want?

"One? We're getting more than one!" And with that he grabs a wagon.

"We are? Isn't one enough?"

"No – one is never enough! Besides, you are going to need a few to practice on."

"What? Oh, no! I don't carve pumpkins!"

"But you always wanted to."

"I don't know."

"Come on, you know you want to. We'll both carve pumpkins. It'll be fun!"

"You'll just show me up."

"I can teach you. Show you some tricks. OK?" He dips his head to look her straight in the eye.

"Really, you won't laugh?" she says somewhat reluctantly.

"Promise."

"OK. Let's get some pumpkins then."

"That's my girl!"

"My girl." "That sounds nice coming from him." Lisbon thinks to herself.

Jane grabs a wagon and they spend a half hour picking pumpkins.

On the drive home, Jane asks her, "What did you do with the apron? "

"I hid it in my bottom desk drawer. But crap, I left it there."

"Well, you are going to need it…"

"I don't need it and besides I'm not going back for an apron."

Jane smiles smugly, "Not to worry, I put it in your bag for you."

"What? You went through my desk!?"

Jane gives her his most dramatic eyeroll.

Lisbon opens her mouth to protest but then thinks better of it.

They ride in silence for a little while then Jane says, "Do you want pizza or Thai?"

"Chinese. Let's go to the Chi Chinese Buffet – they have great sushi there too."


	4. A JACK-O-LANTERN AND A PIE

Chapter 4. A JACK-O-LANTERN AND A PIE

After they go through the buffet and are seated, Lisbon asks, "What are you thinking about?"

"I think they should add something with pumpkin spice to their selection."

"Like pumpkin spice egg foo yung?"

"Funny. No like in one of their desserts…"

"You certainly have pumpkin on the brain today…. Almost like you're obsessed with it."

"Well, I can't wait until we get home," he waggles his eye brows and chuckles.

"Oh." She smiles warily.

As they drive away from the restaurant, Lisbon asks, "Just what is so exciting about carving pumpkins? I have a feeling it's going to be a huge ego fest for you and not that much fun for me."

"What? No! We are going to do this together! You'll be great! We'll have fun!"

"Uh huh…"

"Come on, Teresa. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"You equate pumpkin carving to an adventure?"

"Well, it is. If you've never done it before!"

"Fine. Whatever you say."

For the rest of the drive home, Jane proceeds to tell her about some of the pumpkins he carved for Charlotte. She listens with thoughtfulness, thinking that must have been a special time between him and his daughter.

As they unload and set the pumpkins on the porch, she exclaims, "I can't believe I let you buy FIFTEEN pumpkins!"

"LET me? I'm my own man, Lisbon. You wound me."

"Right."

"No need to be snarky. Shall we start? Which one do you want, my dear?"

"Your dear doesn't care…."

"Your dear." "That sounds nice," Jane thinks to himself.

"Come on, pick one! Think about how much you wanted to join your brothers when they performed this annual ritual!"

"OK. You're right." She points to a large round one. "That one."

Jane carries the pumpkin to the small plastic table he bought for just this purpose. He makes a dramatic show of looking over the pumpkin while Lisbon watches him with amusement.

Finally, he proclaims, "Excellent choice my dear!" He picks up the knife and starts to show her where to cut the top off.

"Give me that knife… I KNOW how to do this part! Besides I'm getting the urge to cut something off," she grumbles. But then dips her head to hide her face, not sure why she said that.

"Teresa, why are you so upset about this?"

"I'm not."

"Are too."

"I don't know. It's just a stupid pumpkin…"

Jane takes the knife from her hand as a tear strays from her eye.

With understanding, and a soothing tone, Jane says, "It's OK to get emotional. You haven't thought about this for years… it brings back good memories and you are sentimental about it. Plus, you feel a little like you are intruding on your brothers' special time. Even though you always wanted to join them."

He moves to hug her and she lets him.

After a few moments Lisbon pulls away and whispers, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," is the whispered reply.

With a deep breath and a smile that comes more readily than she would have thought, "OK, let's do this. I AM happy to have the chance to finally carve a pumpkin."

"Me too."

He returns the knife to her hand. After she cuts the top off, she grabs the scoop and begins taking the insides out…

"Bowl or bag?" She gives him a quizzical look. "You know, for the pumpkin guts."

"Oh. Bag is fine."

"So, um, you didn't use fresh pumpkin for your pie."

"No. Why?"

"No reason. Just curious…"

She points to the other pumpkins with her knife, "Aren't you going to carve one?"

"Later. I like watching you."

"OK... you aren't going to laugh at me when I draw the face, are you?"

"Wasn't planning on it… "

Lisbon is keenly aware that there's something critical about to come out of his mouth so she just has to beat him to the punch, "Buuutttt…. Come on, Jane. Spill it!"

He thinks about deflecting, but instead goes with "Well, not that I want to tell you what to do, but could you not just do triangles?"

"Oh, I can NOT do triangles," she replies with a huff. She grabs the grease pencil and hurriedly draws triangles for eyes and nose and then draws a jagged mouth. "There. That's what a jack-o-lantern should look like!" she says with a triumphant smile.

Jane rolls his eyes. "Yeah. It's perfect. Well, you'll certainly have opportunities to improve on your creativity." Gestures to the remaining pumpkins.

"Whatever." She begins carving one of the eyes out.

"What?" Noting his slightly dejected look, she softens.

"Nothing. You're pretty good with that knife."

"I'm a cop, remember?"

"Well, duh. I know. It's just I've never seen you do anything with a knife before, you know, except to cut your meat."

Realization strikes her. "You thought I needed help!"

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did. I can tell because you're a little dejected…"

They lock eyes. He acquiesces, "I just wanted to show you some cool tricks to carving… but you look like you know what you're doing."

"Really? How hard can it be?" Then, realizing she's probably being a little insensitive, "But you can show me on YOUR pumpkin. Yours will probably look amazing. I know! I'll make you a Great Pumpkin costume!"

"You will? You never did make me that Super Hero costume."

"Well, I had plenty to keep me busy, remember?"

"Yeah. I do."

She turns back to finish carving and he goes to get a candle and a match from the bag of supplies they bought.

She feels bad for not letting him show her how to carve her pumpkin so she slides it over to him and lets him put the candle in and light it. Then she hands him the top which he puts into place. She loves how pleased he looks by her gesture. He steps back while pulling her close and they look at it together.

"It looks great, Lisbon."

She smiles, "Thanks. It does look pretty good."

He nods in agreement.

"Oh, Wait right here. I'll be right back!"

"Wha…?"

"Just wait!" he hollers as the door to the Airstream closes behind him.

Soon the door swings open again and he comes back with two glasses of wine.

He gives a glass to her and lifts his own. "A toast! To you and your first jack-o-lantern!" "And a new tradition," he adds quietly, locking eyes with her.

Her breath hitches and she quickly gives him a shy smile, and clinks her glass with his.

They stare at the jack-o-lantern for a while, watching how the flame makes its eyes twinkle while they finish their wine.

"Let's go in. I have something I want to show you."

Once inside, there, on the counter are all the ingredients for making a pumpkin pie, also bowls and utensils and even a pie plate.

She looks at them and then at him, asking him silently what this is all about.

"I was hoping you would make ME a pumpkin pie."

She opens her mouth but she doesn't say anything. He's looking at her with sincere and hopeful eyes. She studies his face and then smiles at him with pure love and affection. "I would love to."

"Thank you." He gives her a sweet kiss that lingers just a little.

When they break, Lisbon says, "Come on. Help me."

"Here. Put this on, first," Jane hands her the apron.

"I don't have to take anything off, first?" she asks coyly.

"Well, if you want…."

"Maybe later," she teases.

She puts on the apron and turns to let him tie it up for her. His arms encircle her waist and he whispers in her ear, "You don't have to tell me the secret if you don't want to."

"Of course, I want to."

"You know, I actually thought your secret was that you used a real pumpkin."

"I do use real pumpkin. It's just in a can. She reaches for the can and holds it up to make her point."

"Well, where's the fun in that"?

She breaks from his embrace and turns to face him. "Seriously, my mom said her mom used a fresh pumpkin but she always told me "thank God for pumpkin in a can!"".

"So, do you remember the recipe?"

Again, she holds up the can, "No need to. It's all right here" as she turns the can and points to the recipe on the label on the back of the can.

"Well, that's hardly a secret recipe, Teresa." He says with disappointment.

Something suddenly dawns on her. "Hey, you obviously read the recipe on the can yourself. That's how you knew what I would need."

"No, I didn't. I just picked up a can in case you used canned pumpkin."

"Memory palace." he says tapping his forefinger on his temple.

"Oh… I'm so sorry, Jane. Your wife. She must have made pumpkin pie."

"No, we never made pumpkin pie. Angela didn't care for it. Got the recipe from an old carnie friend but I never used it. But I figure most pumpkin pies have the same ingredients… and you don't need to be sorry anymore. It's been a long time, I can talk about happier things now…. before you know…"

She nods her head. Then shakes it and smiles at him. Changing the course of the conversation, "YOUR memory palace still amazes me. I can't believe that you can remember a recipe from so long ago."

"Important things are stored, my dear." Again, he points to his head.

"Mmm. Well, I guess you would think anything related to food is important." She smiles and rolls her eyes. She turns back to the counter, places both hands on the counter and scans the ingredients… "so do you have BROWN sugar?".

"Aha! So that's your secret!"

"One of them."

"One? I'm intrigued."

"Hush. Now what about the sugar?"

"It's in the pantry. Here."

He hands her the sugar and moves to stand beside her at the counter.

She pushes the mixing bowl in front of him and hands him two eggs.

"You're good with eggs. Now get crackin'!"

They look at each other and chuckle. Then Lisbon looks down, bites her lip and shyly asks, "Do you think maybe this could be a new tradition too?" She hears his breath hitch slightly and she looks up.

He looks down at her and replies honestly, "I'd like that."

THE END


End file.
